Inside...

From the National Co-ordinator's Desk

From The Editorial Board . . .

About Youth for Seva . . .

Contours of Volunteering . . .

Enabling and Empowering Individuals and Institutions . . .

Regular Volunteering Programs . . .

Signature Events and Campaigns . . .

VIDYACHETANA – Nourishing Children's Dreams . . .

Highlights of 2014-2015 . . .

Corporate Supported Programs . . .

Corporate Volunteering . . .

Corporate Volunteering Partners . . .

Stories of Change . . .

A Glimpse of Memorable Events . . .

Humbled by Honours . . .

. . . 2

3

4

5

6

9

11

15

17

19

22

24

26

29

32

www.youthforseva.org

It gives us immense pleasure to bring this Annual Report of our activities to you. This report will throw light on the work done by YFS volunteers across the nation in various spheres, in 2014-15.

"A handful of men can throw the world off its hinges provided they are united in - thought, word and deed; never forget this conviction."

These words of Swami Vivekananda resonate with the work of the committed team at Youth for Seva, to the core. Time-commitment and whole-hearted dedication of our full-timers and volunteers, support, inspiration and encouragement from our network of NGOs, doctors, hospitals and well-wishers, coupled with financial support from corporates and individual donors, has brought about considerable change personally, and in the lives of the underprivileged as a whole.

Riding high on these parameters, YFS has expanded its wings and initiated activities in Gurgaon, Bhubaneswar and across Karnataka including Mysore, Mandya, Hubli, Davanagere and Shimoga.

The highlights of the year have been the ever increasing interest in the corporate circles in promoting the spirit of volunteerism among their employees, and the streamlined efforts of YFS in conducting workshops and trainings, aimed at enabling institutions and empowering individuals. A few examples of these are the workshop on "Building Sustainable Community through volunteers" conducted by YFS Delhi in association with Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and "Tech for Seva" hosted by YFS in Hydearbad, both focused on bringing together corporates, non-profits and researchers together on the same platform, and various structured training programs offered to impart both the required technical and personal grooming skills to volunteers.

We are also striving towards carving a niche for ourselves in maximising impact and propelling beneficiaries towards bringing about tangible

changes in their lives. In view of the same, YFS has been successful in training and getting suitable well-paying jobs for 50 differently-abled

youth, and continues to do so. 65 students trained by our volunteers have also been able to clear the national-level NMMS (National

Means-cum-Merit Scholarship) exam, ensuring they are given scholarships all along their educational journey. We look

forward to scale up and bring in more transformation in the forthcoming year.

YFS focuses on volunteering as a means of self-

From the National Co-ordinator's Desk

2

transformation. It is a process of creating individuals with strong personal and national character, through doing their bit for the society, new ideas and volunteers being its driving forces. We invite all of you to join hands with us and tread the path shown by Swami Vivekananda who said 'Let us all work hard, my brethren; this is no time for sleep. On our work depends the coming of the India of the future. Arise and awake and see her seated here on her eternal throne, rejuvenated, more glorious than she ever was — this motherland of ours.'

We also extend our heartfelt appreciation and gratitude to our donors and partners. We look forward to your ongoing support, and remain committed in our nation-building efforts.

Vande Mataram!—Swathi

3

CLARION CALL

Shall I sing to you my brethren?

Here and now, a song of hope, a song of joy, a song carrying dreams of a better tomorrow?

“Empower the present, enrich the future and enlighten the lives of tomorrow!

Resuscitate yourselves; awaken from this deliberate slumber;

I call out to you, be you old or young, come forth and heed this clarion call

Lest it remain all but a dream borne on the wings of a tune forlorn!”

Greetings Fellow Countrymen,

Thank you for heeding the clarion call and joining us in the movement towards realising a better tomorrow.

The editorial board is happy to present before you the national report of YFS collating the highlights of our initiatives during the period of 2014-15.

We have adopted a thematic approach towards presenting the annual report with this year's being centred around the theme of “Realising the Vision of YFS by Enabling & Empowering Individuals &Institutions.”

The flow and presentation is structured such that YFS' role as an enabler in catalysing social change through grass-root interventions along with volunteers is depicted starting right from the induction of core volunteers and full timers, orientations and training provided to the volunteers, workshops and other platforms of enrichment leading to core volunteering initiatives both at the individual and community levels, major signature events of 2014, corporate engagements and CSR projects and culminating with heart-warming stories of change brought about by the volunteers.

We hope that you have as much fun reading the report as we have had preparing it for you.

From The Editorial Board

4Youth for Seva (YFS) started in April 2007 as a platform to provide opportunities for youth who wanted to take an active part in community development despite time constraints. Through this platform, YFS aims to empower youth to become positive change agents who will enable organizations and institutions to work without a vested interest. The goal of YFS is to support schools, NGOs, government hospitals and other organizations in the social sector through volunteers who can help them mitigate some of their shortcomings and challenges. Volunteering is made easy and customized to the individual's interests and time constraints.

A self-reliant and happy society where there is harmony and where most of the developmental needs are addressed locally through individuals who act without vested interest.

To facilitate a movement of volunteering.

To empower and enable individuals to become positive change agents in the society.

To enable institutions to effectively engage community to deliver services.

To create models to address developmental needs through the culture of volunteering.

To promote sustainable lifestyles among individuals and strengthen the required social institutions to sustain communities.

Vision

Mission

•

•

•

•

•

About Youth for Seva

Youth for Seva has designed several volunteering models to enable individuals to get involved in the community despite their time constraints. Volunteering is made easy as it caters to the individual's interests and convenience w.r.t. time availability and location.

Contours of Volunteering

Volunteering Models

WeekendVolunteering

WeekendVolunteering

VirtualVolunteering

VirtualVolunteering

WeekdayVolunteering

WeekdayVolunteering

Seva

Vacati

on

Seva

Vacati

on

Seva

Inte

rnsh

ipS

eva

Inte

rnsh

ip

Seva

Fellowship

Seva

Fellowship

Working Professionals and students spend few hours

Homemakers and retirees spend a few hours 2-3 days a week

College students spend their semester breaks (1 Month)

Individuals volunteer everyday for 2 months or more

College students and professionals volunteer during transition (6 months or more)

Individuals can help in activities like writing newsletters/articles, graphics design, audio recording etc.

5

The journey towards social change is one that is undertaken together by both the volunteers and YFS. With the growing number of YFS volunteers every year, YFS has put in effort to orient these volunteers and train them to become change agents. Two kinds of interventions serve as the platform for such interactions between the two stakeholders every month.

• Volunteer orientations and trainings

• Volunteer get-togethers

Apart from these interactions, specific programs were undertaken by YFS to enable and empower individuals and institutions. The major initiatives being:

Tech for Seva is a national level socio-technical conference on inclusive & sustainable development. It was held under the aegis of Youth for Seva and Seva Bharathi at

th th National Institute of Tourism & Hospitality Management, Hyderabad on 12 and 13December, 2014. The focus of the conference was education, health, livelihood and environment. The event brought together over 1,000 delegates, 330 NGOs, government departments and IT and non-IT companies to discuss and deliberate on various issues ranging from ground level innovations, research and sharing of knowledge. TFS aims to catalyse the creation and use relevant technologies for a desirable future for all of us by initiating an integrating and networking platform.

The conference was inaugurated by Shri Etela Rajender, Honourable Minister, Telangana State. Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Honourable Union Cabinet Minister and Shri Bandaru Dattatreya, Honourable Union Minister also addressed the participants in this unique initiative.

Mr. Jagadeesh Chandra, a renowned expert in training and education initiatives engaged volunteers involved in teaching children all around Bengaluru in an experiential learning exercise in May 2014. Volunteers were introduced to the finer nuances of teaching such as the concept of brain mapping, Vedic mathematics; its relevance and application in a modern day classroom, the difference between spoken and written English, etc. This short but crisp training turned out to be a blessing for the volunteers who returned to their students better equipped and battle ready for the next joust!

1) Tech for Seva (TFS)

2) Train the trainer

Enabling and Empowering Individuals and Institutions

6

3) Annual Residential Camp 2014

4) Workshop on 'Participatory Approach to Community Development'

5) Fulltime Coordinators Induction

6) Workshop on building sustainable society with volunteers

Youth for Seva conducted its annual residential th- thcamp for volunteers during 17 19 of October, 2014

th thin Bangalore and during 8 and 9 of November in Hyderabad. Around 110 volunteers took part in these camps.

The event focused on rejuvenating mind and body through a rigorous regimen of yoga, street

plays and games. For two days, the forum came alive with a kaleidoscope of concepts, passions and

exchange of ideas, experiences. All who attended returned feeling enriched, exhilarated, refreshed and

with new perspectives and realizations.

An intense 2 days workshop on 'Participatory approach to community development' was organized for fulltime coordinators in V-LEAD, a premier capacity building institute at Mysore during Feb 2015. The workshop was led by Dr.R.Balasubramanyam, founder of V-LEAD and included a visit to a village for practical application of the methods learnt during the training sessions.

All fulltime coordinators of YFS got an opportunity to spend a meaningful four days by enriching themselves with the mission and vision of YFS and their role within the organization. The discussions in this induction program focused on the guiding principles, roles of part time and full time volunteers, steering team at the helm followed by different horizontal structures driven by the volunteers such as enrolment & training, partnerships, public relations & branding, and programs. Such induction programs were held thrice in Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

YFS organised a workshop on “Building A Sustainable Society” on the 8th of August, 2014 in Delhi in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). This workshop acted as a platform for the NGOs to come together and present their activities to the corporates. Renowned companies like Dabur, Moser Baer, DLF, Maruti, etc. were present in this workshop. This forum was an opportunity for NGOs to reach out to the CSR departments of the companies.

7

7) Workshop for NGOs on CSR and Corporate Volunteering

8) Ankura- A Boot Camp to initiate New Centres

thYouth for Seva organized a workshop on 26 of July, 2014 in Bangalore called 'CSR – Exploring Effective Corporate - NGO Partnership: An Insight into Corporate Expectation and Standards for NGOs' with a mission of creating positive change in society. Youth for Seva (YFS) brought together the stalwarts of renowned corporate houses and champions of social cause at a common platform to provide insights on how to build an effective partnership between the two.

The senior managers from companies like TATA (Titan), Infosys & Bosch attended the event. Several NGOs like MitraJyothi, Full Circle, Sneha Seva Trust, Sahana Charitable Trust, Samaj Seva Samiti, Dignity foundation, Junior Achievement, Samarthanam, Swasthi, Awake and others, working in diverse sectors like education, disability, empowerment, health, environment, etc. also participated.

In an inspiring bid to spread its wings across Karnataka, Youth for Seva facilitated a 2-st ndday residential camp to initiate YFS activities in other towns and cities on 1 and 2

November 2014 in Bengaluru. The camp helped YFS to start new chapters at Mysore, Mandya, Jagalur and Belagavi.

Each day began with a yoga session followed by different segments that touched upon building a self-sustained YFS activity centre. Volunteer recruitment, tools required to start and sustain the activity centres and leadership skills were all integral parts of training. Participants also got a chance to visit other NGOs in order to understand how non-profit organizations work. The talks by Dr. R. Balasubramanyam, esteemed founder of the Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement and Chakravarthy Sulibele, renowned orator and writer, were highly inspirational

8

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”

-Nelson Mandela

1. Nearly 500 YFS volunteers go to seva kendras across Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Delhi on a daily or weekend basis and share their knowledge on science, computer, spoken English and also coaching them for NMMS (National Means Cum Merit Scholarship)

talent examination.

"An hour of volunteering for a couple of months yields happiness for 4 years and knowledge for ever. Yes, I'm

talking about teaching for NMMS scholarship in zilla parishad high school back in Serilingampally

Hyderabad. I'm glad my volunteering helped the government school kids learn many new things in addition to preparing them for the test. 9 of them had cleared the scholarship exam and are eligible for receiving scholarship for 4 years.

Thank you Youth for Seva for giving me such an opportunity. "

- Soujanya , IT Professional, CA

2. YFS conducts several health initiatives in Hyderabad and Bangalore. One such initiative was a school health program which covered 15 schools in Hyderabad and 70 schools in Bengaluru covering 5,100 and 13,160 children respectively were screened with the help of YFS volunteers and medical college staff. YFS also effectively conducted an awareness programme on hygiene and a diabetic health camp at Anjaiah Nagar, Hyderabad, in collaboration with Nano Health, distributed health charts along with iron and calcium tablets in slums and held a blood donation drive.

3. Youth for Seva provides an excellent platform for volunteers and others to participate as Scribe. Visually impaired candidates usually need scribes during the month of May and November. Over 300 visually challenged students were supported by scribes from YFS.

I am a differently-abled boy due to Cerebral Palsy since birth. I write my examinations with the help of a scribe. It was always very difficult every time to get scribes for my periodic term tests and final examinations. Having got introduced to Youth for SEVA has brought an end to my ordeal of finding scribes. The volunteers of Youth for Seva are kind and selfless. Youth for Seva stand by the dictum 'Service to needy is Service to God'. Thank you Youth for Seva.

- Arvind Laxman, Student of Jain College

Regular Volunteering Programs

9

4. Youth for Seva initiated a project 3 years ago to aid visually impaired students learn in a more effective way as the Braille scripted books lose their sensitivity due to repetitive use over a course of time and non-availability of braille versions of all study material. Through the audio recording project, both English and Kannada books are recorded with the help of around 100 active volunteers from Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mysore, United Kingdom and US. These books are then handed over to NGOs like Sakshama and Mitrajyoti which work extensively to improve the life of visually impaired.

5. YFS took initiative to turn an empty plot at Happy valley Layout to an educational space by making it suitable for conducting classes. Now, nearly 20-25 kids are attending the school every day. The students are mainly the children of migrant labourers from North Karnataka. Here the students are taught basic education for about 3 hours a day.

6. YFS volunteers in Delhi have setup a library as part of reading room project in Sakurpur slum. This novel and unique initiative has already enrolled over 600 children as members with over 200 students turning up on a daily basis for self-study. These sessions are mentored and facilitated by YFS volunteers who have shown great determination and dedication towards implementing this project.

7. Mythri – Menstrual Hygiene (MH) awareness program aims to encourage hygienic practices during menstruation, to address myths & misconceptions and to enable adolescent girls to speak about menstrual issues without inhibition. This project was initiated in Bengaluru with the intention of finding effective ways to impart awareness to adolescent girls about Menstrual Hygiene. It focuses on reaching out to adolescent girls to

spread awareness on Menstrual Hygiene through an animated video made for the same. Female volunteers were trained on conducting the sessions. MH awareness program took place in 31 schools covering over 3,000 girls (in the urban and rural areas of Karnataka) by 16 volunteers.

“It's interesting to find that my friends and I who once couldn't wait to bunk another hour just to hang around, are now learning life's lessons by volunteering as a teacher. The joy is inexpressible! I used to find myself in every student in the class and more than everything i loved being with the children.” —Divya

10

2014 was a special year for YFS as it embarked on a journey of conceptualising numerous signature events across the length and breadth of country. From setting a platform for the students of our academic initiatives to perform and take part in cultural performances and sports through Chiguru to the national event of “Tech For Seva” aimed at leveraging technology and use the potential of the it industry in social service, the signature events were varied and truly one of a kind!

The animating spirit behind YFS is Swami Vivekananda. As the best tribute to his ideals of renunciation and service , YFS celebrates his birth anniversary as 'Seva Sankalpa Divas'. On this day, volunteers resolve to serve and offer what they have for the good of the society.

th thSeva Sankalp Divas was held on 11 Jan 2015 in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, and on 26 Jan 2015 in Chennai. Eminent speakers including Sri N.V. Raghuram (Spiritual Founder & Chairman of Yoga Bharati) in Bengaluru and Prof Sumita Roy (Director - Centre for English language training, Osmania University) in Hyderabad, enlightened the audience with anecdotes from Swami Vivekananda's life. Bright coloured Vivekananda wrist bands with the message “Be Good, Do Good” were sold in Bengaluru.

On the occasion of world disability week, YFS with the help of 60 volunteers organized a massive cultural festival, “i-Enable 2014”, for differently-abled children from 11 special schools across Hyderabad.

The event showcased the talents of the children and brought about sensitization regarding their needs with a

heartening motto of “Changing Disable To Enable”. The Helen Keller Institute played

host to over 250 participating school students. Musical chair,

dance and learning cricket were some of the fun-filled activities organized for the children. Career counseling sessions were organized for both hearing and visually impaired students. The Youth for Seva audio library was formally inaugurated with the launching and distribution of audio books for the visually impaired, in the presence of Mr. Anup Yama, the gold medalist world skating champion.

1. Seva Sankalpa Divas

2. i-Enable 2014

Signature Events and Campaigns

11

3. YFS Annual Day: A Celebration of Togetherness

4. “Warriors of Change!” Yuva Chetana Awards 2014-15

5. YFS Hyderabad Family Picnic

Youth for Seva held its annual day at the PESIT auditorium stin Bangalore on the 21 of September, 2014. It was an

occasion of celebrating milestones and achievements with Dr. Gururaj Karajagi, a

renowned author, columnist and the chairman of the Academy of Creative Teaching, gracing the occasion as the chief guest. The annual day witnessed a visual treat – a sand art picturing the concept and importance of yajna, the logo of YFS, created by Mr. Raghavendra Hegde.

The students from a tuition centre in Veerabhadra Nagar, gave a breath taking

performance of a rare and physically challeng-ing dance form which left the audience speechless.

Yuva Chetana is an award instituted by YFS in an endeavor to encourage community service amongst the student community of Bangalore. YFS aims recognise their efforts and present them as role models.

Post a two month long process of rigorous screening, filtering, interviewing and short listing from the list of 52 nominees we had 9 winners under five different categories: most consistent effort, most impactful, most innovative, best visionary and most organized group of volunteers. The winners were honoured by Prof. Mahadevan from IIM Bangalore and were given a cash prize each to support their chosen cause.

– 100 volunteers & families spent over night in the lap of nature at a place abutting vikarabad forests, 90 kms from Hyderabad. Volunteers bonded with one another, families came to know more about our scope of work and appreciated our initiatives. This picnic enthused our volunteer base and gave a new energy to the organization.

12

6. “Chiguru”, Youth for Seva's Annual Children's Festival

Over the past few years, YFS has been organizing an Annual children's festival at inter-school level in sports, cultural and literary events, titled “Chiguru” which means “bud”. The children studying at Seva Kendras in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, where YFS volunteers are involved, were given a platform to showcase their talents. Apart from these, activities which help build self-esteem, focus and commitment in children were organised.

Around 4,000 children in Hyderabad and around 2,400 children in Bangalore participated with electrifying enthusiasm in 20 events including Quiz, Science models, Song and Dance competitions, Yoga, Mad Ads, etc. About 700 volunteers from 30 companies and colleges volunteered in organizing the event. Over 300 volunteers got involved in training the kids at their respective locations.

It is a day of joy for all the volunteers, kids and everyone present. Every child shows tremendous potential and exhibits competitive spirit while participating in the events.

“The only way to relive one's childhood is to be with the children and they teach me about the world that's beyond the books and classrooms.” —Chandana, home maker from Hyderabad.

13

7. School Kit Drive - 2014

Every child deserves a chance to learn. However, in India, there are still many uncountable children out there who are uneducated because they are unable to afford this basic necessity of a school kit which many of us take for granted.

Since 2007, the school kit drive team has been trying to reach out to children in both the cities and the rural areas. Each year, the YFS teams bring together individuals in colleges, corporates and apartment complexes and assemble the school

kits. Children who see the unskilled labour done by their families as an easy source of income, do not understand

the positive outcomes of going to school. This initiative attempts to remove the haze around the incentives of receiving an education.

In 2014, YFS has reached out to about 40,000 children, majority in rural areas, through the School Kit Drive.

“Volunteering has been my expression of gratitude to the place I live in, and the opportunity to both contribute and explore – an exploration of the difference I could make, of my understanding of myself and my place in society, and of what is possible through human connection and sincere effort.” — Anand, soft skills trainer in Bangalore.

7,000

2010

11,000

2011

26,000

2012

30,000

2013

40,000

2014

School Kits Distributed since 2010

14

Vidyachetana, a project under Youth for Seva, was started in 2009 with the aim of providing the children with an underprivileged background educational support. Vidyachetana is sketched out with the intention to create community outreach centres; assist in the fields of education, health, and vocational training in economically backward areas.

Covering 100 Government schools and 65 Private schools

Educating 1,500+ children in 2014-15

Educated 4,500 children till date

Running 36 learning centres

Operating 4 computer labs for students and youth

• Children from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam are being supported

Vidyachetana Plus is a program to support higher education to children who have aced their SSLC examination. As on today, 70 children are part of this program and we hope the numbers would increase this year.

Vidyachetana launched multi-media based education facility for the children at 6 learning centres. The centres are equipped with a TV, a computer that connects to the TV, DVDs developed by Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement (SVYM) for 8th and 9th standard students on Science, Social Studies, and Mathematics. The videos are available in both Kannada and English languages.

On August 22, 2014, a team of volunteers from CISCO traveled to two villages in Tumkur district, Kallambella and Tharuru to take part in the inauguration of the computer centres. Around 80 students in 12 batches have been benefitted from these centres. They are trained on the basic use of computers and some tools such as Tally, MS Word, MS Excel, Notepad, Wordpad, and MS Office.

Snapshot

•

•

•

•

•

EMBARKING ON NEW JOURNEY…

Vidyachetana Plus

Multimedia Based Education

Computer Centres for Students

VIDYACHETANA – Nourishing Children's Dreams

15

Kalachetana

Kreedachetana

Kalachetana is the platform for children from all learning centres to display their talent in various cultural activities. 500 children from 24 learning centres participated in Bangalore. Over 400 children from villages of Sira participated in Tumkur. It was a day filled with colours (Rangoli), music, dance, drama, debate, and loads of fun.

“Sports boosts self-confidence“– Vidyachetana conducted sports competitions for children across all learning centres in Bangalore and Tumkur in two separate events. Close to 1000 children participated in

sports activities and won several prizes. Competitions

include, athletics, kho-kho, kabbadi, etc,.

I have been volunteering at Sakar-A vocational training institute for special children for 2 years. There are four computer lab assistants to be trained at the center of which three are specially abled and the fourth person is hearing impaired and also cannot speak. On day 2, I began teaching them how to format a word document. I demonstrated first and all of them repeated it. When it was Sashi's turn before a blink of an eye he used a keyboard shortcut for the same. (And this was not a simple shortcut). I was pretty impressed. He explained to me in sign that since the mouse jerks in his hand he only uses keyboard short cuts. I realised that he is some kind of master, say a Jedi when it comes to shortcut keys. I must say all the four students amaze me in their own ways.

-Priya Srinivasan,an IT professional turned full time special teacher at Sakar.

16

Highlights of 2014-2015

17

Corporate group volunteers

Regular weekly volunteers

Vacation volunteers

One time event based volunteers

Doctors

Scribes for visually challenged

Virtual Volunteers

0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000

25000

10000

5000

5000

400

300

100

Volunteer hours

Volunteers Snapshot

Corporate group volunteers

One time event based volunteers

Regular weekly volunteers

Scribes for visually challenged

Vacation volunteers

Virtual volunteers

Doctors

50100

10050

18

Seva Kendras

250

200

150

100

50

0

80

200

15

No. of schools wherevolunteers taught regularly

No. of schools engaged forevents

No. of NGOs where volunteerstaught weekly

People served

No. of people served — Education

No. of people served — Health

No. of School Kits reach out

No. of Children in Chiguru

1. School Health Program with Bosch

YFS conducts health camps across many government schools in Bangalore every year as its flagship program “Doctors For Seva.” The health camps aims to conduct health screening of all the children present in a school with the help of volunteers and doctors.

Every child was given a comprehensive check-up and treated with required medicines during the health camp itself. Students who were referred for further investigations were followed up to complete the cycle.

Corporate Supported Programs

No. of schools covered 70No. of children in the schools 13160No. of children screened 12278Absentees 882

Clinically normal 7237Treated at school 4570ENT 358Skin 103Eye 1088Dental 6408Cardiac 85Others 200

Categories identified

Volunteers informationDoctors at schools 61Doctors in referrals follow-up 34Non-medical volunteers 63

Program summary

19

Health Screening infoCardiac, 85

ClinicallyNormal, 7237

Others, 200

Dental, 6408

Eye, 1088Skin, 203ENT, 358

Anemia, 670

Treated atSchool, 4570

Referrals Follow ups

1200

1000

800

600

400

200

0ENT Skin Eye Cardiac Others

Identified

Follow up done

2. School Adoption: Wells Fargo India doing its bit

3. The Abhyasikas: Education for All

24. EMC School Adoption Program

Wells Fargo India, through Youth for Seva, Hyderabad has adopted two government primary schools in Hafeezpet and Izzatnagar areas to improve the overall educational standards. The program included the following:

YFS Hyderabad runs 16 free tuition centres across slums in Hyderabad city. Abyasikas cater to children from 7-14 where they are helped to finish homework, mentored & taught moral values through stories.

Wellsfargo, Agility and Persistent support the Abyasikas as a part of their CSR Program.

As part of the Corporate Social Responsibility program, 2EMC adopted 3 schools in Bangalore to create a

positive impact on students by providing academic and non-Academic support and also spreading the digital literacy among school students.

The following activities were carried out as part of this program:

• Computer lab was setup in all the 3 schools to enable the learning with the help of dedicated computer teachers. Computer Basics is being taught as a regular subject in these schools.

• Science fair organised with the help of Agastya Foundation, pioneers in propagating the scientific temper among school children

Setting up Computers and engaging a full time resource for computer education

• Providing daily break-fast

• Health Checkups for all children

• School Kits for all children

• Independence Day & Republic Day celebrations at the schools

• Sports Day and Annual day being organized by Wells Fargo volunteers

• Taking children out to science museum and educational trips

• Hafeezpet School re-construction Program to cater to the growing demands from the community to admit their wards in the school.

20

2• Volunteers from EMC actively participated in the Independence Day and Children day celebrations at these schools

• School kits were provided to students of these schools

• Awareness programs to encourage students to have a positive self-image and healthy lifestyle

• Career counselling sessions for Class X students to provide insight to various options ahead.

• Volunteers trained children in various cultural forms for the annual Chiguru event organized by YFS

• School children presented a cultural program in the Karnataka Rajyotsava celebrations at 2EMC .

2• Conduction the Volunteer Orientation and Spoken English trainings at the EMC campus

My experience was mind bubbling and has been enthusiastically waiting for next year to be once again a part of Clay Ganesha event. This year We are privileged to cover even corporate schools like Bhavans, DAV etc. I was glad to see the creativity of students and lump of mud getting converted into wonders. We are expecting to reach maximum number of schools next year across Hyderabad.

—Jayashree, Home Maker from Hyderabad

21

Many corporate organizations play a major role in the development of the social sector through active participation of their employee-volunteers. Volunteer engagement in such social initiatives has gained momentum and is attracting greater focus from many companies. Corporates have been partnering with NGOs for their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. YFS has been working with various corporates and engaging large number of volunteers in social work. Corporates also support YFS in various education and health initiatives.

• Dell, Cisco, EMC, and many other corporate teams are supporting the education programs in 38 schools across Bangalore. The main focus over here is engaging volunteers to meet the needs of government schools – like teaching children spoken English, computers, awareness programs, science experiments, etc. The program also includes setting up of computer labs, libraries, etc based on the needs of the schools.

th• Deloitte Impact day – Nov 28 , 2014: Over 1000 professionals from Hyderabad and 800 from Bangalore were engaged in slums and Schools as a part of Deloitte Impact day program. In Bangalore, Deloitte volunteers conducted various cultural competitions in over 50 government schools and distributed the prizes. In Hyderabad, volunteers interacted with students covering topics like importance of education, health awareness, menstrual hygiene awareness etc. Some of them also volunteered in the health awareness camps conducted by YFS Hyderabad across 4 slums.

• Qualcomm, Hyderabad Screened 200 children at ZPHS Gachibowli as a part of their volunteering program.

• As part of 'Earth day' and 'NGO mela' event, employees of Intuit participated in a paper bag making program conducted by Seva In Action, a partner NGO of YFS which helps people with disabilities become self-reliant and even earn a livelihood by teaching them various vocational skills. Such an event was replicated in Cisco Vrindavan Tech Village

th thand Bosch to a great reception and appreciation on 20 and 27 June 2014.

Corporate Volunteering

It was amazing to see the growth of Chiguru from 900 kids in 2012 to 4000 in 2015. The response from all the schools was very encouraging. Science model was the special attraction and it was a pleasant surprise to see such creative models. Kids had gone beyond what is in textbooks.

—Srikanth, IT professional with Polaris, Hyderabad

22

• Dell, one of the computer manufacturing conglomerates, with assistance from YFS, conducted sports day for children of Rastrothana Learning Centre where around 25 employees from Dell organized the event for approximately 100 children from the Byappanahalli Learning Centre. They conducted various games like 100m sprint race, 4x100 meter relay, tug of war, lemon & spoon race, sack race, rope skipping, hope race etc. For the kids. The event culminated with distribution of various prizes by the employees to the winners.

• As part of the school kit drive, YFS along with Cisco Vrindavan Tech Village conducted school kit assembling thus delivering school essentials free of cost to the children of various government schools, adopted by YFS.

• Five volunteers, including a Cisco and a Dell employee took 33 students, accompanied by two of their teachers, of a non-formal school in Poornaprajna Layout, Uttarahalli, on an

steducational trip to Bannerghatta National Park on 21 February as an YFS event.

• About 15 employees of Intuit and 25 students of JSS Academy of Technical Education joined hands with YFS volunteers to turn a dilapidated Kamala Nehru School building into a colourful place of

theducation. On 11 February, Intuit employees scrubbed the walls and painted

thone of the classrooms. On February 14 , JSS College students, who are part of RA-MOSE, a community service group, did the same for other classrooms in the school.

• Employees from various companies visited Ramakrishna Ashrama, Shivanahalli, Bengaluru and planted over 1000 saplings.

• As a part of the Induction Program, 45 Dell associates from Hyderabad volunteered at Gandhi Hospital and interacted with the Patients.

Volunteering is a way of understanding the lives of a section of society that is otherwise less noticed, a way to share happiness and feel connected.

—EshwarSr. Technical Recruiter, Evoke Technologies

About his visit to Pallavi Ashramam, home for old and homeless women.

23

Corporate Volunteering Partners

Stories of Change

1. NMMS Scholarship

2. Non-formal School

3. Scribes as Agents of Empowerment

Youth for Seva, Hyderabad has undertaken a unique initiative where they have a separate body of volunteers who give special coaching and training for students eligible to attempt NMMS (National Means cum Merit Scholarship) talent examination. The volunteers trained the students for an hour every morning for 3 months at Zilla Parishad High School, Serilingampally. The students were coached in mathematics, science and social studies on weekdays and for longer periods on weekends. The volunteers insisted on active participation of the students during discussions, conducted tests, mock parliaments and experiments. The time dedicated by the volunteers and the persistent efforts of the students were paid off, resulting in 6 students winning the scholarship this year.

The non-formal school for children of migrant labours had to be relocated due to some unavoidable circumstances. Mr. Madan Baldot, developer of Happy Valley Layout graciously provided space to construct a shed for the school in this layout when he learnt that this was for a noble cause. Now, nearly 25 kids are attending the school for three hours every day. The students are mainly the children of migrant labourers from north Karnataka.

Due to the immense efforts of the volunteers to create awareness and impact, parents now send their children to this non-formal school run by YFS, where children are provided with basic education that helps them later enrol in a full-time government school.

With persistent efforts of volunteers during past 5 years, 25 children have been enrolled in regular schools.

For all the detractors who belie the effectiveness of volunteerism, here is story of change worth emulating.

Raju is a final year B.A. student. Manjunath has completed his bachelors and is now preparing for an interview in a telecom service company. Sandhya has completed her B.A., M.A.(Economics) and B.Ed. and now works as a teacher. All of them are completely unrelated and yet they share something common-visual impairment.

26

“There are very few things that we have not been able to do. It can be counted on our fingers,One of them is the ability to write. That is why we need scribes.” says Raghavendrasays a 2nd year B.A. student, laughing.

“Scribes are very important to us. We need an educational qualification in order to get a job, and scribes play an important role by writing our exams. Without them, it is not possible to complete our education” says Raghavendra.

Sanjana, a student, has participated as a scribe several times. She describes it as an amazing and fruitful experience. ”I learn something new every time I participate; be it about the person, about his or her personality and their life experiences. Most of all, it reminds me to stay strong and motivated no matter what life throws at you.”

This meaningful venture has connected over 150 students with scribes over the last exam season. That's 150 students who didn't have to drop out of education or lose a year for lack of writing assistance in their exams.

As a part of annual eye screening program with Narayana Nethralaya to address preventable blindness among schoolchildren who come from economically weaker background, In Nov 2014, there were few children who needed further medical intervention for treatment of Cataract surgery, BE Barrage Laser, Keratakonus surgery etc. On case to case basis, Narayana Nethralaya Foundation supported for the treatment of these children free of cost.

Narendra, aged 12 years, is a bright student of 5th Std from Sanegoruvanahalli Govt. Primary School.

His father is a construction worker and migrant from Gulbarga. On examination, was scanned to assess extent of vision loss. Initially he was given spectacles for 3 months and later underwent BE Barrage Laser Treatment for preventing Retina detachment in future. Narendra so punctually visit NN for his quarterly check up and makes it a point to update us.

Swathi, aged 7 years is in 1st Std of Turehalli Govt School.

Her parents are daily wagers , who initially refused to get cataract surgery done..stating they don't have time. But, through our regular follow up and counseling, Swati finally underwent Cataract Surgery for both eyes successfully at NN. Now the Mother is so happy that she wants her elder daughter also to be treated for similar

issue.

4. Doctors @ School

27

5. “FACELESS”

6. Audio Recording Project

7. Agility to Assist Weavers in Andhra Pradesh

A docudrama to raise awareness about acid attack victims was produced by Prajwal and other YFS volunteers in Bengaluru. This creative contribution from volunteers was much appreciated by “Ati Jeevan”, our partner NGO working such acid attack victims. The video is available on Youtube.

'Your Voice can make a difference'

The YFS Audio Library now contains books ranging from degree books, higher secondary standard textbooks and also story books for children. Some of the books include Statistics for Management, Management Process and Organizational Behaviour and even the highly critiqued Wings of Fire by APJ Abdul Kalam.

The feedback for the books is overwhelmingly positive with one response being -”The audio of “Children Stories” is very helpful. The children are listening to the stories and are extremely interested”.

Agility associates visited Dubbaka village, 120 km from Hyderabad to distribute School Kits to the kith of Handloom weavers who committed suicides owing to industry showing signs of redundancy. Upon further interaction with the weavers and families, Agility as a part of CSR also evinced keen interest to adopt the Handloom Cluster to ensure the existing weavers continue their vocation.

My most memorable time in volunteering was during pulse polio drive. That was the most satisfactory moment. I have volunteered in six schools with various activities like Vivekananda Jayanthi, DFS etc., and I long for the love and attachment.

—Rashmi Udayraju, Student at RVCE, Bangalore

28

1. A Picnic To Remember

2. Republic Day Celebration

3. Summer Camps- a Bonanza

On a bright and sunny morning on the 8th of March, 2014, all the children From Poorna Prajna Non-Formal School and volunteers from Cisco made their way to Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium and later on to the Cubbon Park where the students and volunteers alike had a gala time!

As the tricolour flew high, YFS Hyderabad celebrated the 66th republic day of India in a remarkable manner. A total of 17 volunteers visited 7 different locations such as Malakpet Visually Impaired School for girls, People With Hearing Impaired Network (Phin), Medho Sampathy (school for special children), Centre for Persons With Disability Livelihood (CPDL), Shradda Saaburi (special school), Helen Keller Oral School for Deaf (West Marredpally), Akshaya Akruti School for Deaf (Srinagar Colony), Helen Keller School for deaf (Neredmet) on the 26th of January 2015.

Around 150 volunteers conducted summer camps across 20 locations in Hyderabad and 17 locations in Bengaluru, where they engaged the children in art and craft, robotics, the art of storytelling etc.

Rekha, a summer camp volunteer accounts her experience:

"I was part of the team that conducted the summer camp in Tubarahalli slum in Bangalore also at rainbow home

orphanage. This summer camp reminded me of my childhood ambition to become a teacher. We had activities such as spray painting, thread painting, origami, collage making and clay modeling. Anthakshari

was the evergreen favourite of the kids.”

A Glimpse of Memorable Events

29

4. Parisara Ganapathi – Exploring Eco-Friendly Ganeshas

5. Yugadi festivities with cancer patients

6. Health awareness program for garment workers

7. Spot fixing – creating cleaner cities

Youth for Seva's volunteers were at it again during the season of Ganesh Chaturthi promoting the use of eco-friendly clay modeled Ganesha. Multiple workshops were conducted in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, where the volunteers were provided hands on training of sculpting and moulding clay Ganeshas.

Infosys, Bengaluru had an in-house workshop where over 300 enthusiastic corporate folk were involved. A simple yet subtle way to reach out to the common man to drive home the necessity of sustaining our eco-system and curbing pollution.

This year, YFS celebrated Ugadi with a difference with over a 100 volunteers turning up at Kidwai Institute Of Oncology, Bangalore and the nearby institutes such as the Govt Remand Home for Children, Women Rehabilitation Centre, Shishu Nivas to spread the cheer of the season by distributing fruits to all and serving lunch to the patients at the hospital.

Garment industry is one of the biggest women oriented industry employing lakhs of women. Yet lack of education and proper awareness makes them vulnerable to many health problems such as menstrual hygiene issues, cancer and HIV.

Continuing her quest YFS volunteer Mrs. Shashikala, in association with Garment Mahila Karmika Sangha took up the onus of educating the garment workers. An awareness program on menstrual hygiene, breast cancer, cervical cancer and HIV was organized on 29th of June. From an age group of 18 years to 60 years, 35 members of the sangha attended the program with keen interest.

YFS volunteers were involved in cleaning up many black spots across Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

YFS Delhi also embarked on a similar venture on the 2nd of November 2014 when they involved the students and conducted a “clean up drive” at two orphanages Gopaldham and Gandhi ashram where around 26 volunteers along with students were

involved in the initiative.

At Hyderabad, our volunteers were in full swing on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanthi and undertook different

activities that included generating awareness on health and hygiene, distribution of heath charts, sapling plantation and cleaning of the drains.

30

8. Vivekananda Jayanti celebration

9. Seva Vacation- A Vacation to Look Forward to

10. YFS Volunteers at cyclone relief activity

11. Children's Day Celebration with Cancer Patients

With 65 government schools spread across Bangalore, and 5 volunteers at each school, on the 12th of January VivekanandaJayanti celebration was a grand success! Volunteers guided by coordinators were informed well in advance regarding the events that they could hold as part of the celebrations such as quiz, drawing and painting competitions, skits based on the life and times of Swami Vivekananda etc.

A good number of young college students from different parts of Bangalore have chosen to spend their vacations/holidays in something meaningful and productive by doing their bit for society as interns under Seva Vacation. A total of 154 students were engaged successfully as part of Seva Vacation.Some major areas for volunteering included• Teaching math, spoken English, science experiments and other supplementary coaching.• Organising health camps• Rural volunteering • Environmental initiatives and projects.

A seva vacation volunteer remarked, “This was a different kind of experience altogether as we got a chance to interact with government school children of all ages from different parts of the city. We also got a chance to work with other volunteers and make new friends. Even though we met some people for the first time, we got along well and worked as a team.”

As part of Hudhud relief activity, volunteers travelled around 6 villages wherein they interacted with people to understand their plight and distributed family kits (5kgs rice, daal, sugar, milk, sanitary napkins, blankets etc) to the affected families. They also undertook an arduous 3km trek to Gopalapuram carrying relief material (that included blankets and coils) for distribution. A health camp, in which around 1000 villagers turned up, helped to resolve their health issues with free consultation and distribution of tablets was another such success story in this program.

As a part of the celebration, 12 YFS Hyderabad volunteers organized a drawing competition for cancer affected kids at MNJ Cancer Hospital. Over 80 kids participated in the competition.

The experience I gained at YFS was invaluable in helping me at TFI. As an area coordinator, I developed leadership potential and a sense of commitment.

Tejaswi, YFS volunteer from Bangalorewho is currently a Teach for India Fellow in Hyderabad.

31

• Radio One, the popular FM channel in Bangalore recognized YFS for its community service at its annual social impact.

• NASSCOM Foundation, the umbrella organization of software companies in India, has entered into an agreement with Youth for Seva designating YFS as the official volunteering partner. As per the terms of reference, YFS will be sending corporate volunteering events calendar and also facilitate corporate

volunteering events for member companies.

• Guidestar India awarded Gold certification to 'Youth for Seva' for its transparency and impact in the social sector. The award was given during the World CSR Congress held on March 4th 2015 at Taj Residency, Mumbai.

Humbled by Honours

"Every experience of writing for visually impaired students has been an amazing one and close to my heart. Also a 'Thank you' by every student over the phone, was a reminder of the deep sense gratitude they have. It is said - All of us are unique in his way! Of course ,there is no denying that everybody has their own unique potential ,but this experience makes me say, "These students are way more special than us."

I thank YFS for providing me with this opportunity ,which has made me realize how abundantly blessed I am.

—Vaishnavi works at Wipro, Chennai. She was student of Mount Carmel College, Bengaluru,

while volunteering.

32

www.vidyachetana.org

How can you make a differenceYouth for Seva'Jnanagiri', #75/76, 4th Cross2nd Main, Soudamini Layout, KonankunteOpp. to Soudamini ChoultryBangalore – 560062

Phone : 080-26322260Mahesh: 9845377960, 9916988564mail to : thechild@vidyachetana.org

A project of

...it takes only Rs.600/- a monthto keep a child in school

Your Sponsorship would provide:

a

a

a

a

a

a

a

Access to education by providing school fees, books and uniform.

Values and life skills training

Nurturing the talent in sports and arts

Digital Literacy

Career guidance

Access to coaching at learning centres.

Family counseling assistance.

Sponsor a Child